Brabus 125R: Limited-run Smart ForTwo revealed

Who needs a racier Smart ForTwo? Don’t answer that…

Brabus has revealed its latest take on the Smart ForTwo, in the form of the limited-edition 125R.

Although power still comes from a three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, the boffins at Brabus have bumped outputs from 66kW and 135Nm to 93kW and 200Nm. The bump comes from a modified air intake, a new intercooler, and a recalibrated ECU.

With a triple exhaust running a valved sports setup, it should sound pretty good.

The 100km/h sprint flies by in a ‘blistering’ 9.2 seconds, and you’ll be doing an electrically-limited 175km/h at full noise. To make sure you don’t float away at that speed, Brabus has dropped the ride height by 30mm and fitted 16-inch wheels up front, along with 17-inch units at the rear.

Ride quality, thy name isn’t Brabus 125R, probably.

Brabus has subbed the standard seats for bucket-style units behind the wheel, trimmed in black leather with red stitching. There are aluminium pedals and an aluminium footrest, which match the handbrake and anodised paddle shifters.

A similar red-and-black motif has been applied to the exterior, where Brabus has added a red lip spoiler and detailing to the nose, along with red trim around the exhaust at the rear. There’s also a diffuser-style bumper down back, for the look of extra downforce.

Just 125 examples will be built, but they won’t come cheap. You’ll pay €39,900 ($62,500) for the privilege of owning a 125R and, given we don’t get Smart cars in Australia, it’ll never see local roads.